In 2009 Keith developed pain in his neck after a fall from a horse. He did all the usual things to heal a sore neck but didn't improve. The pain lingered and started to travel to other parts of his body. At this point we suspected there might be something else going on.
After seeing a number of different doctors over two years, Keith was finally tested for Lyme in 2011. He tested positive and was given the usual 3-week course of antibiotics. He improved for a short time but then his symptoms returned.
Several doctors denied he was still sick and told us there was nothing they could do. He continued to decline. Then Keith saw a top infectious disease doctor at Columbia Hospital, who re-tested him. The doctor said the test was negative for Lyme (with one band showing) and that there was no such thing as Chronic Lyme. He suggested that it was all in Keith's head. It was totally demoralizing.
Once we re-grouped from that experience, we continued to look for help. Keith saw an osteopath and the treatment was helpful but he was still in a lot of pain. The osteopath agreed that there are some people with Lyme who, even after the 3-week course of antibiotics, are still sick. Just this validation was huge for us. The osteopath was willing to give Keith 6-weeks of antibiotics to see if it would help but he wouldn't give more, as he was afraid to lose his medical license. The antibiotics seemed to help for awhile but then Keith got worse again.
Then we heard of a Chinese herbalist who was having good luck treating Lyme patients. Keith would drive several hours once a month for his appointments, to get herbs. Keith tried this for several months with some improvement but no lasting results.
Thankfully, before we could try any of those, I stumbled upon two books that helped set us on the right path, Cannabis for Lyme Disease & Related Conditions: Scientific Basis and Anecdotal Evidence for Medicinal Use by Shelley M White and Healing Lyme: Natural Healing of Lyme Borreliosis and the Coinfections Chlamydia and Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis by Stephen Harrod Buhner.
Out of desperation, I designed a protocol for Keith from what I learned.
Within couple weeks of starting this new protocol we knew we were on the right track. He stopped getting worse and actually started to improve. He stopped taking antibiotics and then after a year, stopped taking the herbs. His health had stabilized and but his health had not been restored.
Still in research mode, I read about the Keto diet, which sounded crazy at first but we took a leap of faith and decided to give it a try. Within a few weeks Keith started to feel better.
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